When I read the email I received from the AFCD Foundation, I was pleased to participate in such a massive program as Leadership Lab.

During those 4 days, I had the chance to get to know 60 young leaders and entrepreneurs from different backgrounds and cultures in Morocco.

I was chosen to be a participant in a leadership cohort with 30 people. Our trainer, Asmaa, taught us in groups how to work as teams. We learned how to present ourselves without mentioning our background, age, or work. We can be ourselves, and we can tell the world who we are using only our values, our vision, and the purpose behind every step we take. We explain why we do it and for which mission.

I liked how professionally the AFCD Foundation’s team worked, and they put in a lot of effort to keep us comfortable and safe. For the next in-person activity, I recommend organizing it in the center of a city so that we can discover the region in groups and connect outside. Also, I think it would be better to develop game activities that will help us get to know each other better and enhance our skills, especially in teamwork and communication. This should include evening activities.

To sum up what we learned in those 4 days, we should ask deep questions at every step and try to find a way to understand our “why” and “what” in life.

My quota for our first activity, the “Morocco American Leadership Forum,” is that it’s part of a long process to achieve our challenge of empowering our community.

Oumaima ben Lamqadem